
WWE Hall of Famer Jeff Jarrett, who is also All Elite Wrestlingโs Director of Business Development, took to an episode of his โMy World with Jeff Jarrettโ podcast, where he talked about a number of topics including fellow WWE Hall of Famer Booker Tโs royalty gimmick.
Jarrett said, โThe accent. I never could, like, connect the dots on it. Let me just say this. I was a huge fan of not just Harlem Heat, but when Booker spun out as a single. Yes. At the end of WCW when, you know, look, I was in the ring with him when he became the world heavyweight champion. But then when he went to WWE, WWF and five times, you know, the Spinaroonie that Booker, I loved. And then he changed his accent and there was no kind of vignette. He wasnโt hit on the top of the head. I would always say, Iโm missing something. How did this come about? But if you just took it for what itโs worth, and he played, you know, the Royal King Booker. Itโs a different side of Booker that was entertaining as hell because you just go, Where the hell does he come up with this stuff? But he really got into it and it, you know, the backstage stuff, it was entertaining. I mean, old, old book when he wants to, heโll entertain you in a comedic kind of way. And you just donโt really expect that from him.โ
Jarrett also talked about the backlash of booking himself as a top star in TNA Wrestling.
Jarrett said, โBefore day one. And the reason is I had a model to look at when Jerry โThe Kingโ Lawler was the king of Memphis. He was a part owner of the town. And we could go through story after story in the Territory system. I mean, Fritze. Owner of the Territory. Robert Fuller. Bob Armstrong. Owners of the territories. I mean. I mean, you know, I could go to Vergogna. I mean, you know what I mean. There is Inoki. Baba. That entire wrestling dream was a tribute to Inoki, and wow, how cool was that? Conrad To see Inokiโs grandsons there. But in the history of the business, itโs always had owner-promoter talent in the mix. Crusher, Dick, the Bruiser, I mean, on and on and on. So before I launched TNA, I had witnessed that being a part of it, the business. I certainly wasnโt the first, so I never liked that step that Cody put on himself. I thought it was super counterproductive and it brought a light to a situation that I didnโt think needed to bring a light to. You kind of look at the, you know, weโll call it the group that was there from the beginning, the Bucks Omega, Cody, Jericho. Well, the Bucks are a team. Those other three guys are singles wrestlers. Sure. They are in tags. Why take that off the table for. I take it off the table for you consumers. Youโre almost judging your consumers before, and I get it. Avoid the criticism and all that. I just felt it was the wrong reason. So, Conrad, I mean, obviously, hindsight is 2020. When you look at it now and know that from the day we signed Kurt, I was never in the world title picture, never before that and especially in the days of not being able to afford long-term contracts. Weโve talked about it ad nauseam, safety valves and thought processes and the heel, you know, thatโs another thing when you look at the ebbs and flows of the business on all the companies out there. Iโm talking about not just WWE and RW, but the impacts And just in Triple-A, I got caught up on that a couple of weeks ago when you look at the ebbs and flows of is it going to be a babyface territory or a heel territory? And I used to love hearing those discussions from old-timers and their thoughts. And I donโt think thereโs a right or wrong. I think itโs much more of a timing basis when youโre starting a company and building things. I think you almost have to go with the heel champion and look, you got to switch it off and on. But I just think thereโs more money in the chase. I think there always has been. And I think you kind of look at the bloodline story. How long has it been since Roman got beat? Over a thousand days. Years? Yeah, I mean, you know, where Iโm. As far as the centerpiece. Itโs the chase. Itโs the chase. Thereโs always more money in that. So. Yes. Conrad, I gave you a long-winded question, but I was aware of it from day one. But to steal a phrase from someone, always do whatโs best for business.โ
You can check out Jarrettโs complete podcast in the video below.